Menu

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

When I found out that our honeymoon was going to be Thailand, I did a lot of beauty research to see what beauty products are so popular and what brands they have in Thailand.
Unfortunately, I could not find many makeup brands. Skincare and Spa products were much more popular. Or maybe there are lots of Thai makeup brands but I couldn't find where to find them without knowing Thai.
Still, with only a week in Bangkok to shop around, I think I did a very good job to find some interesting products!
I hope you enjoy!

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Time for Monthly (how ironic as I am not really doing it monthly. lol) Empties!
This time, I am making it like Products I used up + Products I dislike enough to throw away.
This might be the biggest video that I have ever made..
In this video, I covered from daily hair care to dupe of the hyper expensive face cream.

I hope you enjoy it!!

Generally I don't like wasting things so I really try different things to make things work. It is not in my nature to throw away products just because I didn't like it after using it only a few times.
So If I am saying that I have tried to like it but couldn't, it means I tried so many ways to make it work but nothing seemed to work.
So it should give you some ideas how some products perform.

It was very humid and hot when I was filming this by the way. I could not get any air as I didn't want to disturb the neighbors by talking to loud to my camera with my window open, but I did my best to film in humidity!
Talking about humidity, I have been trying my own "humidity proof" makeup.
Is anyone interested?

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Hey everyone! I wasn't planning to write about this on my blog because this is not really beauty related but when I posted about it on my Japanese blog, the response was great so I thought I would do a digest version of the same post here in English.

This is about me getting married and organizing the whole thing. In Japan, from Sydney.

As being Japanese, I respect the traditions of our culture. My fiancé was not fussy about what style of the wedding they wanted so I suggested we do a Japanese traditional Shinto wedding (we are not religious at all) and he said ok.

Japanese people are superstitious but not quite religious in a way. A lot of them worship Shinto gods and Buddha at the same time. On top of that, they like to celebrate Christmas (more like a non-religious happy day though) and other random events which were based on other religions.

Shinto and Buddhism is not something we choose but something we are born with for most of us. It is deep within the traditions and we almost automatically do the rituals, keep a lucky charm from shrines and do a ceremony at a temple when we die.

So you don't really have to be a Shintoism follower to have a wedding in Shinto style at a Shinto shrine.

My parents had a Shinto ceremony and western-style reception. So it was natural for me to do the same. I just wanted to honor them in that way.

So my journey to the right venue had started.

In Japan, most of the wedding venues have wedding plans that includes lots of things. They have the package deals which are supposed to be worth more than what you pay. It depends on the place but most of the places will offer a ceremony&reception plan that would include ceremony, outfits for the couple, food for the guests, a hall space, thank-you gifts, photos, hair and makeup for the bride and etc.

Now, it is normal for Japanese bride to change the outfit throughout the big day. Some brides change like 4 times but mostly 1-2 times is average. So for example, if it is western style wedding, you marry in white dress and show up to reception in a color dress. So if you want to wear lots of different dresses, not only it takes a lot of time but it costs extra too.

On top of that, you can upgrade your food, hall service (if you would like to do a candle service, bouquet toss/pulls, or any sort of activities that involves some stage setting and props) and thankyou gifts, and the upgrade costs extra of course. And it comes with not only a wedding planner but a whole team for your big day! Music guy(who's in charge of sounds system), flower guy, photo guy and so on. So in the end, you feel like you get everything taken care of in one place, which can be mostly good, but sometimes a little annoying.For instance, you have found a dress on at a boutique that looks gorgeous and it fits perfectly and you are so in love with it. But to wear the dress that is bought/rented outside the venue will incur "Bringing-in Fee". It sounds crazy but they want you to spend money inside the venue, not outside, so they try to discourage you to get things outside by charging the fee.Some places might not have this or you can negotiate, but most of the places do have some sort of "Bringing-in Fee" on lots of things.

In Japan, traditionally, all the guests are expected to bring money as a wedding gift and normal amount they put in it is about 25000 to 30000 yen per person. It sounds like a lot but everything costs so much and this is how it's done so no one really complains..not in the bride's face anyway. All the guests (usually per household) will also get a thankyou gift at the end of the wedding too, so even though what guests are giving sounds a lot, half of the money will be the cost for food, entertainment and gifts.Still, it is a lot of money, that is why the couple tries their best to entertain the guests in so many possible ways. Japanese wedding receptions are not casual. They are usually planned down to every minute. You will have some time to eat and chat but there is always something going on, usually. Cake cut, candle service, history video some musical entertainment performed by the couple's friends, speeches and all that.

By now, you notice that Japanese wedding and wedding you know is quite different. (unless you are Japanese, of course!)
I am from Tokyo and my family and relatives are still in Tokyo, so I wanted to have a wedding there. The fact that we wanted Shinto wedding narrowed down the venues so much as there are not too many places where you can do that. Many places would only have western style like in church or chapel.On top of that, while Shinto ceremony is usually for family and relatives only, I wanted to invite all my friends because my Aussie friends said that they would love to see the ceremony as well, and it is not fair if I didn't invite my Japanese friends too. Then the shrine needed to hold more than 80 people. So it came down to 4 venues in Tokyo.I emailed them and explained that I am not in Tokyo now and it is going to be difficult to plan everything.Then one place responded with a very positive vibe. And the plan seemed reasonable so we decided to go with it.I got my wedding planner (they call themselves Wedding Assistants) and started planning via emails with her. It involved lots of questions and lots of imagination as I cannot be there to see with my own eyes and photos were helping but not great. It required so much time to write down all the things we wanted. But she was helping a lot and things started to fall into the right places.

I flew into Tokyo a month before the big day to finalize everything. I started have finalizing meetings with my wedding team members and it took all day usually. Some meetings took 7 hours.. But I could see that they were really trying to make my day the best one, so understanding that made it easier for me. All the talking and planning got finalized in time and Chris, my fiance flew in with his family a week before the day.It was the most hectic week of my life. Fitting, adjusting, making some videos to play at the reception...All was happening at the same time! I literally had no time to see my friends or have fun!
And the our big day. It just passed in the blink of an eye but we had a great day and I truly thought that all the effort that we put into preparing was worth it.
Everyone was very impressed with the solemn ceremony and liked it.
I didn't want to make the reception too boring so I personalized the reception by cutting down things we didn't care for, like candle service and bouquet toss, and add some western stuff like our first dance. Everyone had great time dancing with us after our first dance. My planner came to me after the reception and told me that it was one of the most enjoyed reception she has ever seen. So yay for that! :)
Here are some pictures. I hope you enjoy.
White and Blue Kimono was rented at the venue. The dress was made by my mother.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Hey guys! Long time no see!! I am back again to my YouTube channel with a huge haul!
I am not going to say too much about my journey to Japan and Thailand which I mentioned a little in the following video, but I think I will some other time on this blog.

Today's video is my Japan Haul!!

People who have completely no access to Japanese products might not find this interesting, but there are lots and lots of Japanese beauty products in Australia (regardless if it is the real ones) now!

There are some permanent shops, popup shops and online shops for Japanese beauty products.

I have listed all the products as well, so scroll down for product info.

Product info (in order of appearance)

Arouge Medicated Mist Hydration Lotion (II)

Eｘcellula Brightening Lotion

Excellula Power Lotion EX

Excellula Power Cream

Shiseido Powder Puff 123

COCOWELL Organic Virgin Coconut Oil

SEA BREEZE Deo&Water Ice Type (Gelato Cherry)

CHIFURE Medicated Borage Cream

SPC Hawaiian Style Walea Face Masks

SNAIL FACE MASK（Sold at DonQuijote(DONKI)）

House of Rose Oh Baby! Body Smoother （La Rose/Limited Edition）

La Rose de Versailles Lady Oscar Liquid Eyeliner

Heroine Make Long&Curl in Black

FASIO Smart Curl Mascara (Volume) in Black

CANMAKE GOKUBUTO Mascara in Super Black

CHIFURE UVLiquid Foundation in 43

mon secret Natural Rich Eyes （@100 yen Store) False Lashes

CANMAKE Strong Eyes Liner in Sweet Brown

CANMAKE Hyper Slim Gel Liner in Black

LSC Re:Beaute Perfect Liquid Concealer

Majolica Majorca Brow Customize Super Slim in Ash Brown(BR771)

ANESSA Perfect UV Pressed Foundation in Ochre 00

And some packaging of some of the products, so that you can identify them better.

I hope you found this video fun.

You will probably see more detailed reviews of these products in the future videos, if it's not repeats and not reviewed in the videos in the past.

Friday, August 15, 2014

I am not super crazy or anything about my hair care/routine, but I am a little picky about it.

This is my haircare philosophy; shampoo, conditioner and treatment should not smell too overpowering, should be working fine even when they come from different brands and should be affordable or reasonably priced.

I hope you enjoy it! Part 2 is coming up and I think it is the last one for a while as I will be away for 2 months.

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Hey Everyone!
Sydney is back to winter again; cold and rainy. I hope you are all well. :)

I am now in the middle of editing the new Hair care Empties video and it should be up on YouTube by the end of the week! HOORAY!

Actually I filmed EXCATLY the same contents over and over again (probably more than 5 times) but I was never happy and didn't want to upload something I was not happy with, so it took a very long time. I apologize.
But as you know, I don't like half-assing videos just to keep the schedule or pushing myself too much that it feels like a burden to make videos on youtube, even though it is not my job (I wish I was a full time youtuber though), so I would very much appreciate it if you could be patient with me. :)

ANd why so busy you ask??? WEEEEEEELL... My own wedding is coming up!! HOORAY again!
I am organizing a wedding in Japan so it is bloody hard, but I am hoping I feel that it is all worth it on the actual day.

So, as you could guess, I will be in Japan for my wedding and honeymoon straight after that, that means no more videos for 2 more months. NOOOOOO!
But like I said, I would rather concentrate on what's on my plate right now and not make YouTube a burden for me and torture you with more ranting videos... And I promise to keep posting photos on Instagram and Facebook.
I know it is not as interesting as YouTube, but it is the best I can give for a while.

Now, I wish to do a haul and bunch of new videos when I come back!
Maybe mayyyybe I can film something while I am in Japan... I doubt it though, no promises made.

A wedding/marriage is a big deal as it should be. And I am going through somethings that some people don't have to, like marrying an Aussie guy in Japan legally and organizing a wedding from overseas.. It is tough and some kind of special experience and I would like to share it all for the sake of people who are thinking of doing it, once I am back and settled.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Hi, everyone!
Thanks for waiting, I really really appreciate your patience with me.
I was without my beloved camera for more than three weeks and it finally came back and all the setting was messed up so it took a while but I made it!

Today it is a tutorial on Maleficent look.
Talking about this movie, I really really can't wait to see it! I think it is going to be a fun movie!
So, inspired by the ad, I created this look and, to be honest, I think I got the evil stepmother fairy vibe! Haha! (I know I said stepmother in the video as well, then later I realized that it was a fairy... All the fairytale has evil stepmothers!!!)

This is the finished look.

So I hope you enjoy this tutorial and the movie too!

The Products used:
(in no particular order)

Products used

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Primer

Revlon Colorstay Foundation (for normal/dry skin) in Buff

Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation in 102 Warm Ivory

NYX Blush in Taupe

Australis Ready Set Go Finishing Powder

MedelCo Designer Brow Kit in Medium

DB Designer Brands Whipped Mineral Eye Shadow in Mushroom

elf Mineral Eyeshadow in Socialite

DB Designer Brands 12 Mineral Eye Shadow Palettes in Brown

Beauty Style (priceline) Lipstick in Red Stiletto

Some red lip liner (I forgot where I got it from but it is nothing expensive)

Mary Kay Ultimate Mascara in Black

Dejavu Lasting Fine Eyeliner in Glossy Black

Beauty Style (priceline) Eyeliner in White

Borjois Eyeshadow in #90

elf Socialite and DB Mushroom

DB 12 Mineral Eye Shadow Palettes in Brown

Blue circle is the color I used to fill my eyebrows and pink circle is the color for crease.

Saturday, March 29, 2014

OMG! I don't believe this! I didn't publish this article!!!! NOOOOOOO!So here we go... late but better than never..I think.

The latter half of contour video is up!

When I was making this video, I had hard time making it short and straight to the point.
I know that I tend to ramble so I always keep in mind "Get down to the point, Yui!" when I'm filming, but even then, when I'm editing the video, I go like "Ah, that part is unnecessary." and cut that part out.
So I am not very good at making it really short yet.
You might not like how I edited this video, because I cut a lot of the parts out and it seems unnatural, but I don't think you would like me rambling and taking your precious time, so I decided to keep it that way.
Which one do you prefer though? I am very interested in what you think. If you have opinions on how a beauty vlogger should edit her/his videos, please share in the comment section of this blog. <3

Now moving on to today's topic; contour.
I thought it was easier if I put the face charts too, as we are talking about where we need to put the contouring powder, here we go.

I think the contour is a very powerful thing that makes a big difference on your face.

Left image is just a plain bare face and the right image is what it looks like when I do full contour.

These are just 2D images but they look very different.
Can you imagine what it can do to your 3D face?!

Now, let's watch what brushes I use and where exactly I would contour for different face shapes.

For round faces:

Contour for Round face.

The ideal face shape that we want to achieve is a diamond shape, so I would contour having that in mind.
Contour well the sides of the forehead, face and jaw.

As I mentioned in the video, please keep your highest point of your forehead and chin as you want to keep the height.

Next is long face:

Contour for long face.

I would like to shorten the long face by contouring forehead.
Focus more on forehead, rather than chin, as explained in the video.
This image looks like I have contour on the chin and the jaw line but contour the underside of the chin and jaw.

The last is square face:

Contour for square face.

A square face has a strong jaw line, so the point where you put the brush first (aka the darkest part) would be the corner of the jaw.
From there, blend it in all the other direction (up, down, sides).

If you have a square top of your face, contour the temple well, like for the round face and pull back your corners of your face.
Contour in the hair as well as the hair line.

Lastly I would like to share this very important tip:Do not forget to contour 4 places I mentioned in the video.Also when I say "contour well", it is NOT simply to put a lot of the contour products. It means to contour

Carefully and thoroughly

Keeping it looking natural

Still, you should have the benefit/effect of the contour.

It takes time and practice to achieve this, so practice a lot to see and feel what looks right for your face shape!

Sometimes, Less is more with makeup.

But it does not mean that you should cut the corners.

Truly beautiful makeup takes a lot of time and effort, even if it looks like there is not much makeup on the face.
I think Rae Morris agrees with me on this one. :)

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Today it is about my skincare products!
As I get a lot of questions about my skincare routine and products, I thought I would make a video about it.
If you would like to see one of those "My Skincare Routine"videos where you show your products and how I use them, please let me know.

I didn't have the actual product packaging, I thought I would put the photo from my instagram of Noevir cleanser.

A photo from my instagram
when I was so upset that I was finishing this.

I know this video ended up being pretty long, but I really wanted to put them all together.
So I hope you enjoyed!
Also if you have a request for a detailed review videos of one of the products mentioned, please let me know via comment. :)

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Hi guys! Sorry for not uploading for two weeks!
It is very hard to keep up with my new business and planning a wedding..

Anyway, it is about contour today!
I am making two videos about contour and today is the first part.
(I make videos in two different languages so it is automatically a double length..)

In Part 1, I will explain:What is Contour as an idea?What color should you use?
Not many people talk about the color of the contour and it is one of the reasons why I wanted to make a video about contouring.

For a long time, I used the wrong color for contour and looked muddy and dirty. Had no idea why it didn't look good on me as no one told me what color it should be.

You can find a bunch of information about contouring on the internet and books.
And you apply it as they tell you, the color and the place and everything... But you look at the mirror and think "That doesn't look quite right.."
Well, you have to know certain things to contour properly and it is not really in the books.
Because you have to know where the light hits and where the shadow falls on your own face.
No body can tell you that. (Unless you have a personal makeup artist.)
General face chart is only a guide line. You have to fit in to your needs and make it your own!
So you have to start from observing and studying your face.
Understanding your face.
This is the only way to get better at contouring, honestly!

So which color should you pick? Isn't bronzing contouring??
Please watch the video to find out.

I am putting all the photos of the contour (including matte/semi matte bronzers) products that I compared.

Contour products!

Every single product mentioned on this article gets swatches on my finger(s).

I know the finger swatch is kinda hard to see, but I edited some photos to make it look consistent and better.

Also at the end of the article, I put a very clear comparison photo of all the colors so that you can have a better idea of what the color looks like.

I compared them all for you to see which one has orange/pink/red/yellow tone in the products.

CS Hot Pots in M22 and M20

As I said in the video, I would recommend M20 as a countour for SUPER pale people, who are a bit scared to use NYX Taupe (mentioned later in this article).

I personally prefer it if it was a little more gray, but it might still work as contour for a very pale skin.

M22was not mentioned in the video but later realized that it would be a good contour color for dark skin.

They are both completely matte finish and they are very inexpensive! ($1.95 each from Coastal Scents)

M20 and M22 swatches.

Maybelline Expert weareyeshadow in Creme de Cocoa.

Creme de Cocoa swatch.

NYC Bronzer in Sunny.

So this is the bronzer that everyone on YouTube is talking about; NYC Sunny Bronzer!

This is inexpensive and a good warm-toned bronzer.

As I mentioned in my video, this did NOT work for me because it was a wrong color for contour.

If I want to use it as a bronzer, I can still use it but it is still a little too pink for me.

If you have medium skin tone with blue undertone (which means your skin appears pink-ish), this would work well.

NYC Bronzer swatch.

T.Leclerc Pressed Powder in Cannelle.

It got badly cracked and I tried to mend it.
Now it looks lumpy but works totally fine!

CANMAKE Shading Powder in 03.

CANMAKE Shading Powder swatch.

CANMAKE Bronzer in 01

This bronzer was one of the first bronzers that Japanese drugstore brands created.

It has beautiful gold shimmer sprayed onto the powder. And I think some people didn't like it then they made the shading powder that doesn't contain any shimmer at all, which is the product mentioned previously.

As you keep using it, or dig in, there are much less shimmer, almost feels like no shimmer at all.

Apparently this is a discontinued product. (I just found out now!)

CANMAKE Bronzer swatch.

CEZANNE Nose Shadow & Highlight.

I wish they make a whole pan of this dark color.
To be honest, I don't even like this high light powder. They are little too glittery.

CEZANNE Nose Shadow swatch.

NYX Blush in Taupe.

This is something I swear by! I think it should be a holy grail product of every pale girl!!

NYX Taupe swatch.

Bourjois Delice de Soleil in 14.

This is, I think, a chocolate-themed bronzer from what I can see from the outer packaging.
It has a picture of a chocolate on it.
However, it does not smell like a chocolate, unlike the ones from Too Faced. A little disappointing.
Also this is way too red for my skin tone/undertone. :(

Delice de Soleil swatch.

So what do you think?? Do you have ideas of what they are like? Not quite, huh?
That's why I compared them all on a white baby wipe so that you can REALLY see the difference in the color.